CLIPPERS -at- LAKERS - 11/21 - Thoughts and :-)) ratings
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 1:11 am    Post subject: CLIPPERS -at- LAKERS - 11/21 - Thoughts and :-)) ratings

I Sense a Theme... Good teams win ugly and good teams win on the road. The Lakers haven't been tested on the road yet with the home-heavy schedule, but they have been able to grind out the ugly wins.

Ugly is shooting 37.1 percent to the Clippers 48.2 percent. Ugly is going 0-11 to start the fourth. Ugly is Lamar's 4-10 from the FT line. How did the Lakers overcome that? They held the turnovers down to just 14...finally. They killed the Clippers on the offensive glass with 22 boards. Kobe manufactured 15 points from the line. And, they hustled.

Kobe looked more like Kobe in this one. He led the team with a +14. Once he starts throwing down some dunks on people and hitting several threes in a game, we will know he's back. Step by step, he's slowly getting there.

Kobe -- -- There are a lot of numbers to look at after this game: the 40 points on 12-23 shooting; the impressive 15-18 from the line (although that was key); the 5 boards; the team-leading 5 assists were nice...but the key of it all was doing it with just 1 turnover. If he had 4 or 5 more turnovers, that puts us back into the 18-19 turnover range again. The 1 turnover was a result of being more decisive. He had better timing and rhythm. He didn't go for several highlight behind-the-back passes. He didn't try threading the needle. He just attacked and made the easy kickout passes. In other words, he seemed to look a lot more comfortable out there than he has in previous games. "I felt great," Bryant said in the Times. "I really felt good. There was no doubt in my mind." Good sign, Laker fans. Kobe got off to a torrid start. He posted up at the wing, swung through to face up, drew contact and banked in an And-1. He stripped Kaman, then busted out on the break with Smush and made a layup. He sank a 19-footer straight away with the shotclock low. He scored a reverse with his left. Nice strip on Mobley, but Kobe couldn't convert a layup or turnaround at the other end in transition. He blew past Ross, then just plowed over Thomas who had both feet in the restricted circle for an And-1 layup, he made the FT. He drew FTs, made one. He attacked down the lane, tucked the ball under his arm and scored an And-1, he made the FT. He measured a wing three and sank it for his 20th point of the first quarter. In the second quarter, he flipped in a reverse layup with his left around Brand who fouled him, Kobe made the FT. He picked up his third foul of the half with 3 minutes left and had to sit. He had 23 points on 8-13 shooting at the half (shooting 1-2 in the second quarter). In the second half, he waited for the help D to clear out and then he attacked and powered in a layup. He attacked and kicked to Smush and LO for back-to-back threes. He sank a tech FT. He attacked from the wing and drew a foul on Kaman in the paint for FTs. After sitting on the bench for several minutes to start the fourth, he ended a Laker dry spell when he drew two FTs for the team's first points of the quarter with 5:48 left. He manufactured more FTs on the next trip with an attack, but only made one. He swished a jumper from the right side for the Lakers first field goal with 4:37 left of the fourth. He crossed over and attacked in transition and hit in a sweet underhand floater with just over 2 and a half minutes left. With the shotclock low, he attacked, split the double team with a spin and shot high over the triple-team defender who came to help and sank the one-hander with 55 seconds left. Very nice fourth quarter from Kobe. "He's getting better each game," Maggette said of Kobe. "It's still going to take time, but he's a great player. Great players make great shots, and he's been doing it for a long time."

Odom -- 8) -- There has been a lot of talk about Lamar being able to D-up the bigger players in the league at the PF spot. So, Phil started him defensively on Kaman and Lamar played him pretty well all game long. (Kwame also took some minutes on him). Kaman eventually fouled out after scoring 12 points on 12 shots. Lamar was throttling up his offense, taking 18 shots and making just 6. A couple of the shots were poor shot selection, but frankly, I don't care at this point. Just stay aggressive. He would have had a bigger game had he hit his FTs. He scored 18 points on the night and was just 4-10 from the line. He also had 6 boards, 2 assists and 4 turnovers in 41 minutes. He took Kaman off the dribble and scored a layup. Great D on Ross on the sideline to force him to call a timeout. He backed down Thomas, ate him up and drew a foul, but LO missed both FTs. He missed two FTs after drawing another foul. He attacked and missed a dunk. After we got the ball back, he attacked into the paint again and drew FTs, this time he made both. Poor decision to take a rushed three, falling back slightly and he bricked. He picked up two fouls at the end of the half and had to sit. He sank a three straight away to start the second half. He attacked Kaman off the dribble, missed, got the ball back and tip-toed along the baseline to get out of the lane, then attacked again and hit a hook. He drained a three from the wing on a kickout from Kobe. He pulled down a Kwame bricked FT and banked in a hook. He had 10 points in the third and the Lakers pulled out ahead. He attacked, drew FTs and bricked both. He missed a three straight away. He and Kaman both had 4 fouls and Lamar drew a charge on him in the post and Kaman had to sit with his fifth foul early in the fourth. He posted up, faked to his left and wheeled to his right for a lefty jumphook. He manufactured FTs on a drive with 2:10 left and, thankfully, made both. "You just kind of stick with it," Odom said in the Daily News. "You stay in there. You stay tough. Hitting them when they count, I can sleep at night now."

Smush -- -- If you take away that third quarter when Cassell made Smush into his own personal Christmas tree, ligthing him up on possession after possession, Smush had a good game. I'm sure glad Cassell didn't pursue that in the fourth. Smush had some good moments of hustle and disruptive play on the defensive end despite that. Offensively, he finished with 15 points on 5-11 shooting (2-3 from three), 3 boards and 4 assists in 33 minutes. He deflected a pass into the backcourt to help cause a shotclock violation. He hit a wing jumper off the pinch post. He got stuck on Cassell's hip at midcourt, could never recover and Sam scored in the lane. He threw a weak bouncepass to Kobe expecting Kobe to roll of a screen, throwing it without waiting to see if he did and it was a turnover. He dug out a loose ball on the defensive end with some hustle. Vlad found him running down the middle of the court in transition for a layup. He hustled for an offensive board, taking it away from the Clippers. He missed a runner in the lane. He got tapped on a layup off a handoff from Bynum. He snaked through the baseline D and flipped in a quick layup before the defenders could converge. He rushed a three and missed. Nice fake, attack and then extra pass to Bynum around the help defender and Drew got a couple FTs. Cassell started drilling Smush on jumpers in the third, hitting several in a row. Smush knocked down a wing three on a kickout from Kobe. Cassell posted him up for an And-1, Smush countered, swishing a three on a kickout on the other end. He came up with a loose ball and quickly outlet to Luke for a breakaway score. Good battle on the defensive glass with his teammates with under 2 minutes left to help secure a board. He made one of two FTs with 1.5 seconds left to ice the game.

Bynum -- -- Quiet game from Drew, but serviceable minutes. He played 17 minutes and scored 6 points on 1-4 shooting and 4-4 from the line. He grabbed 5 boards and dished an assist. He started on Brand defensively. He went over the back on the defensive end to try to get a board and was called for a foul. He later picked up another foul on the offensive end away from the ball and had to sit just a few minutes into the first quarter. He grabbed a loose ball under the rim and scored easily. He missed an awkward hook, not able to get into good motion and left it a bit short. He missed a decent looking hook in the lane. He fought for an offensive board and drew FTs, making both. Smush found him in the lane and Andrew got to the line again, making both. He took a shuffle step in the lane and traveled. He missed a left-handed jumphook.

Walton -- -- Hold your pose, Luke. He drained that corner three with under 30 seconds like he thinks he's leading the league in three-point shooting. Wait a sec, according to NBA.com, Luke "Ranks #1 in the NBA in Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage (0.667)". That was before he went 2-2 from beyond the arc in this one. Of course, we mentioned his great three shooting a couple games back. We'll bring it up again. Luke is on fire from downtown, going 10-14 so far this season, stretching his percentage to 0.714. Luke finished the game with 12 points on 5-8 shooting, 5 boards, 3 steals and 2 blocks. Even though Maggette gave Luke a tough time, and Phil even sat Luke for Mo for a stretch, those defensive stats show Luke was being disruptive within the team D schemes. On an island, he had problems. Ross blew past him for a layup early on. He played some nice help on Cassell to contest a jumper to help Smush. Good feed to Kobe out of the Tri for a reverse layup. He swatted his man in the lane to force a turnover. He drained a wing three on a good look early. He jumped a passing lane in the back court to steal a pass. He hit one of his fades in the middle of the lane. He stripped Brand on help D, then busted out on the other end for a breakaway layup. It looked like he winged a three attempt by Maggette with under 2 minutes left. On the other end, Luke's man left him alone under the hoop to double Kwame and Kwame found Luke for a layup. He iced the game with that huge corner three with the shotclock low and under 30 seconds left. However, he nearly re-heated things after he grabbed a defensive board then rushed an outlet pass and threw it away with 16 seconds left (didn't need to do that, he knows it). But big props on the clutch three in front of the Clipper bench.

Kwame -- -- Kwame's game has been the epitome of winning ugly. The sketchy shots from the floor or the line make you wince, but the tough man D and, yes, team D, aggressive rebounding and general hustle has an impact on the game. Kwame grabbed 14 boards (7 offensive) and scored 10 points on 3-9 shooting (4-8 FTs), 1 block and 1 big assist. Early on, he got blocked by Kaman going for a layup. He backed Kaman down, head faked then powered in a layup. He drew a foul on Kaman with an aggressive attack, made one FT. He posted up, got blocked, got it back, missed, then tipped his miss in. He worked down low again and powered in a layup. Then, he was called for his second defensive And-1, reaching for a weak foul. He drew FTs in the paint and made one. He just missed a tip in and was fouled, he then airballed the first FT and badly bricked the second (which LO promptly cleaned up with a jumphook). He drew FTs with 3:05 left on a lob pass, he made both clutch ones. He and Kobe then blocked Maggette on the other end under the hoop. Great find after Luke's man tried to blindside Kwame, Kwame held on and hit Luke under the hoop with a pass for a layup...big play in the final two minutes.

Radmanovic -- -- I didn't like his body language on a couple of sequences at the end of the third. On one it looked like he stopped playing to say something to a ref while the ball was still alive. It sounded like another Laker yelled "Come on, Vlade" to get him going. He struggled and still doesn't look anything like the Vlad Rad of previous seasons. He went 0-5 in 17 minutes for 1 point. He did battle for 5 boards and dished 3 assists in that time. He missed a couple good looks at threes. He found Smush in transition for a layup. Nice help D swat on Brand, then Vlad recovered the ball. He drew a foul trying to get a tip in and made one FT. He forced a left-hander in the lane and missed, not good shot selection. Both he and Evans are struggling to find a comfort zone yet in the offense. Vlad, of course, is still challenged by the shooting hand injury.

Evans -- -- He sank a corner three on a kickout from Kobe near the end of the third. That was his only make in 7 attempts. He did manage 6 boards (3 on the offensive end). He again had the usual bad Tri sequences where he's just lost in the offense sometimes. But, that's to be expected.

Vujacic -- -- With Farmar out and Livingston's size, Sasha got the call for 15 minutes. He was 0-4 off the bench and didn't have an assist. Uggh. Good pressure D on Livingston who was taking his time in the backcourt and it resulted in an 8-second violation. He missed back-to-back wide open threes...badly.

Phil -- -- Phil put LO on Kaman and Bynum on Brand to start the game. After Bynum picked up a couple of fouls (not anything Brand did), he had to sit and the Clippers went on a 13-0 run. They settled in and played some solid ball until the beginning of the fourth... Phil left Lamar in the game with 1:30 left in the first half after he just picked up his second foul (and Kobe was on the bench with his third) and LO drew his third foul next time down the court... The Lakers started the fourth quarter 0-11 from the floor and 0-2 from the line, until Kobe finally manufactured some FTs. Phil said they got a bit too three happy to start the fourth (they went 5-5 in the third) and weren't getting into the paint for scores... With the game tied 83-83 the Clippers were out of fouls for the rest of the fourth quarter. The Lakers milked it for multiple trips to the line to close out the game... I'm glad Dunleavy left Cassell on the bench a bit long in the fourth after he drilled us in the third. And they didn't go back to that two-man game attack with an aggressive shooting Cassell, either. Stooopid. "The group that was on the floor had them on a 1-for-17 run," Dunleavy said. "We had the lead. We had it going. We were playing well. We were playing solid, so we stayed that way." Phil > Dunleavy again... Turiaf, Cook, and McKie, who was activated, were all DNPs...
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 1:19 am    Post subject:

Quote:
Phil > Dunleavy again

No doubt.

Phil has that Clipper talent, they are at the very least contenders. Not ESPN created contenders but legit contenders.

When I see teams like the Clips with so much talent play the way they do at times with what seems like no structure .. I realize how great Phil Jackson and the Triangle is.

His system and coaching makes his team surpass their talents (well in particular the role players). Dunleavy ... the opposite.

One guy in the history of basketball would sit on his butt while the opposing team went on 10-0 run to tie the game in the 4th and NOT call a TO. That is Phil Jackson ... greatest coach of all time IMO.
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George W Buss
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 1:20 am    Post subject:

Thanks, DB.
Been waiting for your analysis
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 1:20 am    Post subject:

Woke up in the middle of the night (3 am) to say great recap DB!! And great Laker win!!

Kwame 10/14? I will take it! Especially the rebounding part.

They need to keep this 4 game winning streak going!!!
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 1:22 am    Post subject:

Thanks, DB.

I thought Smush's agressiveness both on defense and in getting to the basket were key tonight. He hasn't attacked the basket like that all year. He almost seemed to play more relaxed, knowing Farmar wasn't biting at his heels. A bit odd if you ask me, but he definitely put his stamp on this game more than any other thus far.

I have to admit, when Phil pulled Bynum for Kwame in the fourth I almost lost it; I just didn't see the logic. I also couldn't hardly stand to see Kobe sit as long as he did at the top of the fourth when the Lakers went 6 min without a point. But Phil will be Phil and when the Lakers win, who's to question?
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 1:29 am    Post subject:

BTW DB, is there a Center controversy? I see Kwame played 31 minutes off of the bench.

But more importantly, were there any sequences when we played Bynum/Kwame together? If so, how did they look? Thanks!
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 1:31 am    Post subject:

Thanks for the recap.
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 1:36 am    Post subject:

RYZ wrote:
He almost seemed to play more relaxed, knowing Farmar wasn't biting at his heels. A bit odd if you ask me, but he definitely put his stamp on this game more than any other thus far.


His last three games have been more similar to last year. I really think not playing any ball this summer had some impact on Smush's early part of this season. He was just out of rhythm quite a bit. The previous year, he had all those SPL games in the Tri and came into camp a lot better off. This year, so many of his shots just seemed not to be in flow with the offense. Now he seems to be reading the floor and his opportunities better. So, I think we are getting play more similar to last season (which still had plenty of things to improve on, but not as bad as he was early this season).
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 1:37 am    Post subject:

Though the Clippers are better known for their power play, the Lakers bullied them tonight. The Lakers have a lot of size, speed, and muscle on their roster. When they are active, it can be pretty imposing.
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 1:38 am    Post subject:

Texas_Pete wrote:
BTW DB, is there a Center controversy? I see Kwame played 31 minutes off of the bench.


Two-headed monster. Since Drew can't play a lot of minutes because of his conditioning, Kwame will get his PT. So far they have looked like a pretty good one-two punch at the C spot. I don't see Phil changing anything for a while.
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 2:12 am    Post subject:

sean2023 wrote:
Though the Clippers are better known for their power play, the Lakers bullied them tonight. The Lakers have a lot of size, speed, and muscle on their roster. When they are active, it can be pretty imposing.


I agree on this. It was nice to see our team go toe-to-toe with Clippers bigs. With a few more seasoning, our bigs will be noticed around the league.
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 2:58 am    Post subject:

DancingBarry wrote:
Texas_Pete wrote:
BTW DB, is there a Center controversy? I see Kwame played 31 minutes off of the bench.


Two-headed monster. Since Drew can't play a lot of minutes because of his conditioning, Kwame will get his PT. So far they have looked like a pretty good one-two punch at the C spot. I don't see Phil changing anything for a while.


Phil will have to work out a way to play both of them for parts during the game eventually. I can't wait for that!
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 3:20 am    Post subject:

Yeah!!!
Kobe is back!!!!
Great game!!!
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 3:31 am    Post subject:

Just think if we had Chris Mihm. He and Turiaf would have anchored the second team.
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 3:40 am    Post subject:

DancingBarry wrote:
Texas_Pete wrote:
BTW DB, is there a Center controversy? I see Kwame played 31 minutes off of the bench.


Two-headed monster. Since Drew can't play a lot of minutes because of his conditioning, Kwame will get his PT. So far they have looked like a pretty good one-two punch at the C spot. I don't see Phil changing anything for a while.


^ solid post, interesting comment.

I personally wish that the Lakers play 'Drew 10-15 mpg. Currently, he's averaging 22 mpg .

after all, drew has a 19 year old body, playing the VERY physical center position......

so IMO, I feel it's absolutely great that Kwame's back, which would pare down 'drew's minutes (perhaps less than 22 mpg; maybe 15 to 18?). This is only drew's second year. He's already exceeded numerous insider types. IMO, it's a long season for such a young body.

As for this past two games, it was been part of a VERY interesting learning curve for 'drew, i.e.:

Quote:

1. sunday, being put on ben wallace, the prototypical, all hustle-banger center. Advantage: Drew

2. tuesday, vs. a mobile PF with 7'1" reach (elton brand..... why did the bulls trade him???? I could NEVER understand this trade.... and less so with EVERY year brand's in the league). the elton brand/chris kaman combination challenged 'drew, not unlike the challenge given by the seattle frontline. however, this time around, we had kwame to spell the minutes behind 'drew.

expect the staff to console 'drew on his progress and strategy in dealing with the different scenarios. 'drew being able to play a banger PF will be critical and VERY INTERESTING in the coming weeks. (I can wait to see the 'drew/kwame matchup vs. man-child-superman dwight howard*** (on december 27 (two days following our matchup vs. miami ))

Advantage: +++ impact on 'drew's Learning curve

****will lamar be put on darko? (which I feel is a better matchup vs. lamar vs. howard )
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 4:31 am    Post subject:

Great stuff as usual DB. Although I'm kind of surprised you didn't mention the fact that Phil matched up Mo Evans on Maggette. Cory obviously has an advantage over Luke defensively with his strength and quickness. I thought that was an excellent move. Evans is a much better matchup. IMO it kept Maggette from having a larger impact on the game.
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 5:32 am    Post subject:

Looking at the boxscore, I noticed the Clippers frontline had at least 5 fouls. Was that a result of PJ directing the team to go inside? Getting other bigs in foul trouble could be huge for this team. If only we could improve FT shooting.
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 6:19 am    Post subject:

great recap. in all the ugly things you mentioned, you forgot to mention cassell glad to see that smush showed up to the game to play
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 6:20 am    Post subject:

Thanks for the recap DB. This was one of those games where I depend on you for info as I refuse to pony up for NBA league pass and for some odd reason the local Indianapolis stations don't carry Laker basketball (something about the Pacers)

I had to give myself a big pat on the back though when I saw that Kobe did exactly as I predicted some 2 weeks ago and then again yesterday.

http://forums.lakersground.net/viewtopic.php?p=721203&highlight=#721203
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 6:46 am    Post subject:

I thought Smush was fantastic. I don't think his lapses led to Cassell's hot third quarter. Time and time again Cassell has shown he is a very good NBA player. But overall, Smush did well staying in front of his man, challenging shots, finding the open man, getting good shots up. I think his only gaffe was the T called on him while Kobe was shooting FTs. Of course, I don't know what was done or said to warrant a T, but Smush should know better that the refs aren't taking any <bleep> this year.

Kobe seems to have found his niche again, and he seems to be in much better condition. It showed last night. But I especially liked how he attacked the basket rather than settle for jump shots. Rather than hold the ball for ten seconds then throw it up, he attacked the backcourt, and went right at the supposedly superior frontcourt of the Clippers, with Brand and Kaman.

And while Vujacic has been disappointing with his shot, his bothersome defense I thought showed today. He was annoying out there, and he caused a few turnovers, I thought.

I think Odom and Kobe are learning to share the ball just well. It showed last night.

Honestly, two things kept this from being a blowout last night: rebounds and missed free throws. The Clippers got way too many second (and even third) chance opportunities. The Lakers are long, they need to use their length. No, they need to learn to position themselves on the floor better. Or learn to go to the ball. There is way too much standing around looking at the ball instead of going to it. I don't know if you can teach going to the ball. Smush did it on his great offensive rebound in traffic. Kwame and Bynum need to learn how to do it.

Speaking of Kwame, is he studying under Kareem as well, or is only Bynum studying with him? It seems Kwame is still a little too wild out there on the offensive end. He doesn't seem to have control of the ball or even his own body. When he has the confidence he can do anything, as is evidenced by some wonderful alley-oops, particularly against the Bulls the other night. He really should be working with Cap and learn to control his body and the ball better.

While not without its frustrations, last night was a good win. It is good to see the Lakers winning games they were losing last year. Now what they need to learn to do is to hold on to leads. If you have a ten point lead, build on it, don't just settle for it. Keep attacking and do what got you that lead, don't shy away from it!
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 8:50 am    Post subject:

jeremysnow wrote:
I personally wish that the Lakers play 'Drew 10-15 mpg. Currently, he's averaging 22 mpg .

after all, drew has a 19 year old body, playing the VERY physical center position......

so IMO, I feel it's absolutely great that Kwame's back, which would pare down 'drew's minutes (perhaps less than 22 mpg; maybe 15 to 18?). This is only drew's second year. He's already exceeded numerous insider types. IMO, it's a long season for such a young body.

As for this past two games, it was been part of a VERY interesting learning curve for 'drew, i.e.:


I agree completely Jeremy. I've been afraid of Andrew getting worn out by the time he's 23!

Kwame comming back and contributing like this is the perfect situation. We can bring Bynum along more slowly as his body finishes it's maturing.

In the meantime, there is no better education for him. Nothing like learning by doing, I've always said.
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 9:55 am    Post subject:

I was tickled to death that we won but I'm not completely happy over some things.

Phil's lineup to start the 4th was a horrible unit. Sasha cannot make a shot if his life depended on it and then you have Vlad (a player I actually do like) who cannot shoot due to his messed up hand on the floor together. Sasha, Evans, Vlad, Odom, and Bynum is not a good lineup. The Clippers defense didn't have to show Sasha or Vlad any respect which made it simple for them to guard Lamar.

On the other hand the Clippers went big out there with Thomas, Kaman, and Brand. During that stretch to start the 4th they were getting every board they wanted. Why is Ronny, a guy who pretty much single handidly won 2 games for us this season, glued to the bench? Offensively he is a better player at this point in time than Radmonivic. He also will play defense unlike Rad.

I'm sorry but I just don't understand what Phil is thinking.

I loved that Kobe wasted no time in attacking last night. There wasn't a whole lot of dribbling to set himself up. Instead when he caught the ball he instantly made his move. Most of the time the Clippers couldn't rotate fast enough to give Ross and Mobley help.

I also agree with you on Odom. The dude has to hit his freethrows but I was still very happy to see him stay aggressive. Even if his shots isn't falling as long as he stays in attack mode it makes the defense not focus soley on stopping Kobe.

Smush looked much better last night but I can't help but have my doubts about him. To start the 3rd his defense on Cassell was awful and he appeared to get caught up in matching Sam on offense instead of shutting him down. Getting the T was just a boneheaded move. Still though he was more aggressive for the most part and played under control on offense.

Kwame is a stud. That is all.

EDIT

Well I guess Ronny still has some hip pain. Phil doesn't want to play him until he's 100%.


Last edited by Freakout on Wed Nov 22, 2006 10:45 am; edited 1 time in total
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ryuvienco
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Joined: 28 Jun 2005
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 10:02 am    Post subject:

AllorNothing wrote:
Just think if we had Chris Mihm. He and Turiaf would have anchored the second team.


I was surprised to see him in uniform last night. I was fortunate enough to watch the game live last night and it was sweet. I was sitting in section 210 right in front of the Laker banner. ONe thing I noticed and I don't see this watching TV is everytime there is a substitution, Ronny would get up from the end of the bench and give them a high five. I thought that was pretty cool. I wanted to see him play last night but apparently he has a hip condition. Similar to what Kwame has on his shoulder.
But I do agree, if we had Chris and Ronny anchor the second team, we would be really imposing.
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jeremysnow
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 10:58 am    Post subject:

PopcornMachine wrote:
jeremysnow wrote:
I personally wish that the Lakers play 'Drew 10-15 mpg. Currently, he's averaging 22 mpg .

after all, drew has a 19 year old body, playing the VERY physical center position......

so IMO, I feel it's absolutely great that Kwame's back, which would pare down 'drew's minutes (perhaps less than 22 mpg; maybe 15 to 18?). This is only drew's second year. He's already exceeded numerous insider types. IMO, it's a long season for such a young body.

As for this past two games, it was been part of a VERY interesting learning curve for 'drew, i.e.:


I agree completely Jeremy. I've been afraid of Andrew getting worn out by the time he's 23!

Kwame comming back and contributing like this is the perfect situation. We can bring Bynum along more slowly as his body finishes it's maturing.

In the meantime, there is no better education for him. Nothing like learning by doing, I've always said.


the lakers are VERY well aware of putting too many minutes to this young man. incidentally, 'drew was measured prior to the season, being slightly taller than last season, which suggests continued bony growth (although most probably slowing & calcifying).

the staff I understand is closely monitoring his minutes and energy level. lakers have learned from the mistakes of other organizations, e.g. jonathan bender .

unfortunately, at the start of this season, there wasn't much of a choice, but to play bynum extended minutes....... we were nil at the 5 slot.

broadly speaking, bynum has been a good fit in the organization.

it helps that bynum has a stellar attitude;

it also helps having several big men coaches, e.g. kareem and kurt.

bynum is taking his life as a professional baller in stride, always willing to listen to advice and constructive criticism.
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Klone_dd
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 11:33 am    Post subject:

A win to clamp all the Clippers chatter is a good one no matter how ugly.

Kobe back to MVP form. Some of the shots he made were just awe-inspiring. How do you even practice that stuff? 360 spin move to split a double team and then shooting a floater over a 3rd man? C'mon, Kob, I get dizzy just thinking about the move.

Kwame provided the down & dirty play. He's playing with a lot of enthusiasm and energy. So he airmailed a FT. He more than made up for that by hitting 2 in crunch time and the sweet no-looker to Luke for a layup.

LO had a tough night at the line and from the field, but he was not shy about shots in the 2nd half when Kobe needed the help.

Smush had a quality game and the less said about Sasha the better.
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